ASTRONOMY 211: DESCRIPTIVE
ASTRONOMY II
Dr. Danny Faulkner
Phone: 803.313.7029
Email: drfaulkn@mailbox.sc.edu Fax: 803.313.7106
Spring 2012
Instructor: Dr. Danny Faulkner
Class meeting time: 1:00 – 2:30 PM M, W
Classroom: Bradley 204
Final exam: Monday, April 30, 1:0 PM
Office: Bradley 221
Office hours: 9:00 – 11:00 M,W; 10:45 - 12:00 T,Th; Most
afternoons; Other times by appointment
Text: Voyages through the Universe by Fraknoi, Morrison, and Wolff, third edition
Welcome to ASTR 211, an introductory astronomy course for non-science
majors. This is a continuation of ASTR 111, which was primarily the
study of the solar system. It is not absolutely necessary that you
completed that course. In this semester we will explore stellar
astronomy, extra-galactic astronomy, and cosmology. We will start
with chapter 14, and I hope to finish the text. You may have a copy
of the Power Point files, if you wish. The file is large, so it will best
fit on a flash drive. There will be three or four tests of equal weight,
while a few homework assignments and observing projects for the semester will
be averaged to comprise an additional test score. The grading scale will
be as follows:
|
Score |
Grade |
|
90 - 100% |
A |
|
80 - 89% |
B |
|
70 - 79% |
C |
|
60 - 69% |
D |
I expect you to read the chapters in the text, preferably before I lecture on them. The lectures will be based on the text, but the tests will be based on the lectures, so class attendance is very important. Students who miss class invariably suffer with poor grades.
There is a one credit hour lab designed to accompany the lecture course. It is not required that you take the lab, but if your major requires lab science, then you should take the lab. Check with your advisor. If you register for both, you may drop the lab and keep the lecture, but if you drop the lecture, you must drop the lab as well.
OBSERVING PROJECTS
1. Once per week measure the length of the shadow of a pole near noon.
One of the lampposts on campus would be an excellent choice for your
pole. Through the course of the semester you should see a dramatic change
in the length of the shadow due to the change in seasons.
2. Once per week estimate the altitude and azimuth of Sirius. Sirius is
the brightest star in the sky, but I will give you some assistance in
identifying it. You should attempt to do this about 7:30 or 8:00 PM each
evening.
It is very important that you begin these projects right away.
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
Students often ask why they must take a course like this, particularly since that it is improbable that in the future many of you will actually use the things learned here. That is a fair question, and it must be answered in the context of what a liberal arts education is. Many would argue that teaching someone only what he or she may need to do a job is simply training, and is best accomplished at a vocational or technical school. On the other hand a university education should go far beyond employable skills, and involves learning many things just because they are worth knowing. A person who is truly educated should have a broad knowledge in order to form informed opinions about the world. Given that none of you will ever be astronomers, what would I like to accomplish in this course? Five or ten years from now what will you remember about this course? I would expect that you should have some idea of how the universe is put together, roughly how big it is, where we are in the universe, and how far away stars are. In years to come I would consider this course a success if you hear in the news of some new space probe or astronomical discovery and you understand what is being talked about. You should feel that you accomplished something if you can identify a few stars in the sky or a planet or two.
OUTCOMES
With successful completion of this course, the student will:
· Know gross properties of the sun and understand certain aspects of the sunspot cycle
· Understand some of the physical processes operating within the sun and know the source of the sun’s energy
· Understand general stellar properties and how we determine those properties
· Understand the Hertzsprung – Russell diagram
· Understand the basics of stellar evolution theory
· Know the typical end states of stars and some of the physical principles involved in them
· Understand the sun’s place in the galaxy and the universe
· Know how we measure extra-galactic distances and understand the Hubble relation
· Understand terms used in cosmology and understand the fundamentals of modern cosmology
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
As previously stated, class attendance is very important. Please be on time. Use of cell phones and other personal communication devices is prohibited. If you feel that you must text message someone during class, please leave the room.
Make-up exams will only be given for excused absences. If you are absent on exam day, be sure to call and later provide me with documentation. Make-up exams are given at my convenience and may be given orally.
It has come to my attention that many students do not know how to properly address faculty members. In civil society it is never appropriate to refer to anyone simply by his or her last name. A last name should always be preceded by a title. In most cases that title is “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” or “Miss.” While those titles are acceptable in an academic situation, it is preferable to refer to faculty members by their professional titles. If a faculty member has a doctorate, the appropriate title is “Dr.” However, if a faculty member does not have a doctorate, the aforementioned titles are appropriate. If you are unsure whether a faculty member has a doctorate or if you wish not to make a distinction between faculty who do and do not have doctorates, then the title “professor” is quite acceptable for all faculty members.
COURSE OUTLINE
Chapter 14
· Photosphere, chromosphere, corona
· Sunspots, sunspot cycle, magnetic effects, Maunder minimum, effect on climate
· Other surface features: granulation, flares, prominences
Chapter 15
· Hydrostatic and thermal equilibria
· Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism
· Nuclear reactions
· Solar neutrinos
· Helioseismology
Chapter 16
· Magnitudes: apparent, absolute, bolometric, color index
· Spectral classes: OBAFGKM
· Elemental abundances
· Space motion, radial velocity, proper motion
Chapter 17
· Binary stars: visual, spectroscopic, eclipsing – masses
· Radii: eclipsing binaries, occultation, interferometry, luminosity
method
· M-L, M-R relations
· Main sequence, white dwarfs, giants
TEST ONE
Chapter 18
· Star names
· Trigonometric parallax, Hipparcos
· Cepheid variables, P-L relation
· RR Lyrae variables
· Spectroscopic parallax
· Luminosity classes
Chapter 19
· HI, HII regions
· Molecular clouds
· Hot gas
· Dust: extinction reddening
· Dark nebulae, reflection nebulae
Chapter 20
· Theory and problems of star formation
· Mass dependence
· Extra-solar planets
TEST TWO
Chapter 21
· ZAMS
· Stellar lifetimes
· Post MS branches: RGB, HB, AGB, energy sources for each
· Star clusters: globular, open
· Chemical enrichment
Chapter 22
· White dwarfs, electron degeneracy pressure, Chandrasekhar limit, planetary
nebulae
· Neutron stars, mass ranges, supernovae, supernovae remnants
· Pulsars
Chapter 23
· General relativity
· Black holes, event horizon, singularity
Chapter 24
· Herschel’s work, Shapley’s work
· Modern view of galaxy: disk, arms, halo, bulge
· Spiral density waves
· Population I, II, and III
TEST THREE
Chapter 25
·
· Hubble classification scheme
· Galaxy masses
· Distance determination methods
· Hubble relation
Chapter 26
· QSO’s
· Seyfert galaxies
· Giant ellipticals
· Gravitational lensing
Chapter 27
· Cosmology/cosmogony
· Isotropy/homogeneity
· Cosmological principle, perfect cosmological principle
· Galaxy clusters, super clusters, voids
Chapter 28
· Steady state
· Big Bang
· CBR
· Future of the universe
· Exotic theories
· Halton Arp
TEST FOUR
USC
Lancaster
The
University of South Carolina
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| Last updated January 13, 2002.
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